Jerome Bettis Jr. Commits to Notre Dame Football; WR is Son of Steelers Hall of Famer

The son of one of Notre Dame's most famous alums is following in his father's footsteps.

Class of 2025 wide receiver Jerome Bettis Jr., the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis, committed to Notre Dame on Sunday, per ESPN's Tom VanHaaren.

A 6'2", 195-pound prospect from Woodward Academy in Georgia, Bettis is ranked as a 3-star prospect by 247Sports' composite. He chose to attend Notre Dame over offers from Texas A&M, Duke, Louisville and Ole Miss, among others.

Bettis is ready to embrace the comparisons to his father, who starred for the Fighting Irish from 1990 to 1992 and was a first-round selection in the 1993 NFL draft before going on to star for the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The youngster began his youth football career as a running back wearing his dad's No. 36, but he switched to wide receiver in seventh grade and changed his jersey to No. 4 in eighth grade in hopes of forging his own path.

"One of the biggest things was changing my number, and so me really getting my number away from his, that was a big step for me realizing that at the end of the day, I'm my own man," Bettis told VanHaaren. "I love my dad and I love everything that I guess comes with him being my father, but at the same time, I create my own legacy and my own journey."

Bettis added that Notre Dame made him comfortable throughout the recruiting process because it was made clear that he was being pursued for the player he is and not because of his famous last name.

"They made sure super early on that it was known they recruited me for me and not my father," he said. "They wanted me to know that they want Jerome Bettis Jr. at Notre Dame because of what he can bring, not just because of what comes along with me and my name. That's something that was really important to me, because I wasn't sure how they viewed me and my dad and the entire situation, so for them to reassure me was great."